A Dream to Fulfill
by Zinthos XIII
Summary: "The only thing that will stop you from fulfilling your dreams .. is you." However, no one told Mio Akiyama that taking this literally would change her life forever.


Hey everybody! Here's a little something for all Mitsu lovers out there -which I think it's most of us, haha- and with a tiny bit of YuiAzu .. This one-shot is dedicated to the people from FB that have been asking for one .. you know who you are! And some of them owe me one, too! DX

I finished with this piece -the longest I've written so far, btw- a couple of weeks ago, and I originally had planned to publish it by the end of October. However, I figured, "Why wait?" .. so, withour further ado, here's the story .. I hope you enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, _K-ON!_ is not mine. If it was I would have introduced Mugi-chan to Hiyori Tamura! Can you imagine everything that this duo can create together? More Yuri goodness for everyone! XD

* * *

**A Dream to Fulfill**

"Hey, Mio ... c'mon look at me," honey-colored eyes eagerly searched for a more agreeable reply from the other. "I won't tease you anymore about it, I promise."

"You always say that, Ritsu, and you end up doing it again!" but only a very visible frown was present under those short raven-haired locks as she faced the other side, avoiding the pleading girl.

Seeing that begging wouldn't work anymore, Ritsu decided to take actions into her own hands. Letting a groan escaped her lips, she grabbed Mio brusquely by her shoulders and turned her around, making sure they were face to face now.

Startle by such action, a small hint of fear fell over those stormy eyes, but it was gone as an overwhelm warmth embraced her at the feeling of a pair of strong arms encircling her waist tenderly, bringing her closer to their owner. Intense amber-colored eyes, slightly hidden under loose russet bangs, gazed deeply into bashful stormy ones.

"Mio," her voice, now a whisper for only the black-haired girl to hear, lingered near her ear with delight as what very little distance that existed between them seemed to decrease all of a sudden. Mio could feel Ritsu's warm breath closing in; she was so close ... so close.

But suddenly, in the blink of an eye everything turned pitch black. A second blink and the blurry sight of a familiar ceiling came to view. And a third blink cleared the girl's vision and with it came a realization.

She was just dreaming.

Isn't a delight to be awakened by such an interesting dream?

"Damn it!"

Okay, maybe not always.

"I can't believe I had another one!" exclaimed the annoyed obsidian girl with a remarkable blush across her cheeks as she sit up and sat on the edge of her bed. "Why is it happening again?"

Yep, definitely not a good way to wake up. Well, at least not for second year university student, Mio Akiyama, who at the moment was taking out her frustration on her lovely hair; which was now tangled and sticking out of odd places after long callous fingers furiously ran through it.

She glanced at the night stand to check the time. It was a bit over an hour earlier than what she's used to wake up to. That would be what, third time this week? Yep, third time already. This certainly was not normal anymore. She got used to having dreams like this once, maybe twice a month, but three in one single week was just too much for poor Mio to handle.

Letting out an exasperating sigh, she dropped back on her bed and remained there for a moment, staring at a random spot on the dark ceiling.

"How long has it been already?" she wondered to herself. The issue in question was that of when Mio began to harbor romantic feelings towards the maniac drummer in her band.

Yes, that idiotic-hyperactive drummer, Ritsu Tainaka.

It was about a year ago, on the weekend of the brunette's birthday to be precise, that an eventful happening lead to this enlightenment.

The tawny-haired girl's band mates decided to have a little get together in Ritsu's room at their dorm to celebrate; which soon got packed when the rest of the Light Music Club arrived. And since it was a well know tradition from After School Tea Time -and well, it was a birthday party after all- cake and tea was a must-have that night. So they all had some cake, and had some tea -courtesy of Tsumugi-sama, of course- and they all had a very pleasant -or amusing, actually- time watching the birthday girl tore through her presents.

By midnight they had some music playing on Ritsu's small stereo while chatting lively as they all sat around the floor while having a few snacks and drinks. And it wasn't until then that someone noticed that the last round of drinks they were having tasted a bit … different.

They were all drinking juice, but for some reason on their third round the taste of it had changed somewhat.

Yui was actually the one who detected a bitter taste in her drink; which brought a funny looking sour expression to her face. The rest of the girls then spotted this new bitter-sweet taste, too, and there was only one thing that crossed their minds at that instant.

It had alcohol.

Someone, somehow, had sneaked some liquor into their drinks. Automatically, everyone turned to Ritsu, their immediate first suspect in this wicked joke. But what a surprise they all received when they turned and saw the brunette in an unexpected state.

Fully flushed cheeks, half-lidded droopy eyes, and the funniest little pout they've ever seen from the drummer as her head slightly wobbled.

She was drunk.

Or tipsy, at the very least, but still the same thing.

What a shocker! What an amazing discovery this was! Who would have ever thought that the overly-energetic prankster, Ritsu Tainaka, had a very, _very_ low tolerance for alcohol? No joke, it really did just take a tiny bit of liquor to get her in that state.

This was actually rather hilarious to witness. And even more so when they saw the drummer slowly crawl on all fours towards Mio, drop her head on the raven-haired's lap, and like a kitten snuggled even closer to her before falling asleep.

That. Was. So … Adorable!

The scene was just too darn cute it was criminal! Such image somehow looked even cuter when they noticed a very alarmed Mio with eyes wide-open, frozen in place and with a remarkable deep crimson red covering her sweet face, trying by all means to hold a panic attack from bursting out.

Oh yeah, Mugi-chan was in heaven when that happened.

Yes, that was definitely an endearing scene to watch. What a blissful moment, what a joyous sight, what a marvelo-..

Wait, they looking for the perpetrator who sneaked alcohol into their drinks!

Getting back to that subject -which was actually really hard to do because they just couldn't help but to keep glancing at the couple- this development discarded Ritsu from been the one who meddled with their drinks.

They all had the same second suspect in mind next, and with an accusing digit and a cry of, _'The culprit … is right there!'_ Mugi -who had returned from La La' Land- pointed in Ayame's direction. All eyes turned to the new suspect.

The short-haired girl denied it, of course. But in the end, the real culprit turned out to be their club president, Kana, whose only ulterior motive -according to her- was simply to have a little fun.

She sure did have some. And so did everyone else.

Even if the rest of the girls didn't admit it, they just couldn't help but amuse themselves with the sight of a slightly drunk Ritsu as she blissfully kept cuddling closer to the obsidian girl, who just remained motionless the entire time with a permanent blush across her cheeks and without knowing what to do about it. What an adorable sight indeed.

So after the girls helped clean up the room and got the brunette changed into her pajamas, it wasn't long before everyone decided to get back to their respective rooms, with the exception of Mio who was left to tuck in the brunette. And it wasn't until everyone else was gone that Mio was more or less able to get some of her senses back.

With that, she somehow managed to slip Ritsu under the covers of her bed and made sure she was okay before leaving her room, but before she could even fully turn around to leave, a hand reached for her sleeve with a firm grip. Mio glance back to notice Ritsu's sleepy eyes looking back at her, and it seemed like she wanted to say something. So she kneeled next to her bed and leaned closer to hear.

Slowly, Ritsu managed to raise her head a bit, she slid off her headband and put it away, letting those long bangs of her freely fall down her forehead, and then she leaned enough to reach Mio's ear and whisper a barely audible '_Thank You'_, to which Mio smile fondly. But it was the brunette's next action that paralyzed the bassist's heart.

While still close to her, Ritsu got even closer to Mio's face ... too close. The drummer's warm breath gently tickled her ear. She then felt sudden goose bumps at the warm and smooth touch of soft skin against her cheek. Blood rose to her face when she realized it was Ritsu's lips what she felt and her stormy eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Ritsu had just kissed her on the cheek!

Time had stopped for the raven-haired girl.

And that was not all. Ritsu didn't move from her current position, instead she slowly ran her lips across Mio's cheek with such a tender and caring touch that made the bassist's body tremble under an intense heat. Mio's mind went completely blank, stunned for what she was seeing and feeling. Her heart, thumping so loudly like never before, accelerated its speed. She panicked even more when the brunette's gentle lips were getting too dangerously close to her own.

And then she felt it again, on the corner of her lips.

A second kiss.

And she moved again, slowly. This time they were face to face... half-lidded amber eyes stared deep into wide-open gray ones before gradually closing, reducing the distance between them. Unnoticeably, Mio closed hers as well, and slowly she, too, began closing in... But she paused and opened her eyes when she heard a soft thud.

Ritsu had fallen back to sleep.

Besides her already burning cheeks, Mio felt something began to boil in the pit of her stomach when she thought for a second that the brunette was aiming for her lips next. It spread to her chest and it nestled there, engulfing her heart tenderly. That night, a mixture of sentiments rushed through her in seconds as she gazed in awe at Ritsu's serene expression in deep sleep. She looked so, delicate.

From that moment on, Mio began to look at Ritsu with different eyes.

And before she knew it, she'd fallen in love with her best friend.

Never in her life, did Mio ever think that she would fall in love with a girl, let along her childhood friend. Then again, she couldn't recall ever been interested in boys back when they were both in junior high. And besides Ritsu's younger brother, Satoshi, there really weren't any guys around the group, so perhaps that's why the thought of dating a boy never came to mind. Or simply just the topic about dating, for that matter.

Except maybe that one time back in high school when the girls thought Ritsu was dating a guy. Remembering that occasion, Mio realized something from that time. Back then, the simple thought of Ritsu meeting up with someone really bothered her. And now that she thought about it, perhaps since then she had unknowingly begun to develop romantic feelings for the brunette.

Eventually, with the time, Mio accepted this sentiment, and tenderly embraced it with great happiness and eagerness and fervor. But of course, she was still nervous of this new found emotion, so she kept this love to herself. It was, after all, the most beautiful feeling she'd ever experienced in her life, so perhaps she didn't felt like sharing it with anyone at the moment. Good thing that the rest of the girls were used to always seeing her blush for whatever random reason, so they wouldn't wonder of her constant flustered state. Conveniently enough, Ritsu already was the cause of Mio's constant _Moe Moe Kyun_ moments whenever she got the raven-haired nervous, scared, embarrassed, and aggravated, scared, and angry, mortified, scared, tearful, and annoyed … oh, and scared. Very convenient, indeed.

A year had already passed since then, and as she lay on her bed reminiscing of that unknown night to others, she couldn't help but to think of how frustrated she felt now. All because of one thing.

Ritsu didn't kiss her.

Every once in a while when she recalled every little detail from that moment, she would do nothing but to wonder of what it could have been if the drummer had kissed her that night. What it would have felt like.

Nevertheless, she also wasn't so sure about having these feelings for her childhood friend. Mostly, she feared that it would damage their friendship if somehow she were to find out. And although she passionately cherished this feeling, Mio thought it would be best to let go of that love and forget it ever existed.

However, nothing of what she did worked for the raven-haired to get over Ritsu. Dreaming about the drummer did not helped at all; on the contrary, dreaming of her only made Mio yearn for the brunette even more. But what bothered her most was that every dream ended the same way.

They all had different scenarios, different situations, but they all finalized almost the same.

With a headband-less Ritsu about to kiss Mio.

And at the exact moment that their lips are about to touch, everything turns black. Next thing she knows, Mio's stormy eyes are looking up at the dim ceiling of her room, wide awake from her incomplete dream.

Mio hated her ceiling by now. She didn't stop glaring at it hoping it would burn holes on it.

That was not the point at the moment. The problem was that ever since that night, deep down Mio had longed for that kiss from the brunette. She felt even more frustrated that even in her dreams such desire was never granted. She thought -and hoped- that maybe, just maybe in one of those dreams if she could have that kiss fulfilled at least once, she could finally have the will to forget about the drummer.

But these dreams, they always deceived her at the last second.

"Aaagh!" still frustrated, she messed with her hair in aggravation from that unfulfilled dream of just moments ago. Once again she glanced at the night stand.

About ten minutes had passed since the last time she checked.

"You've got to be kidding me!" and with an irritated grunt, she got out of bed and decided to get ready for school. Maybe a hot shower would help her clear her mind.

-o-o-o-

Nope, her morning shower did not helped at all.

Not only did she had to wait almost an hour for everyone else to wake up and get ready at her dorm's common room, but she was unfortunate enough to be found by none other than the very hyperactive drummer that kept causing her sleep deprivation.

Once the rest of the girls arrived as well, they headed downstairs to the cafeteria where some of the first year students were already eating. Among them was Azusa sitting on an empty table, waving at them with a smile. Smile which faded away once she noticed a wide awake Yui rushing to her with open arms ready to tackle down the petite girl.

Mio smiled warmly at the scene. She can still remember when they first found out by the twin-tailed that she had been accepted into their same university. Not to mention the overjoyed chaos that Yui caused that time.

"Yui-senpai, get off of me!" struggled the young one. But as always, nothing worked.

"Yui, for crying out loud, leave the girl alone!" said Akira as she managed to detached the brunette from their kouhai. Although Akira felt a great liberation to no longer be Yui's huggable toy, she still sympathized with Azusa. After all, she did have to deal with the guitarist's antics the previous year. But then again, Azusa did go through two years of high school with the brunette and survived.

Akira thought that was amazing, which is why she did all she could to help the young guitarist when it came to Yui.

Breakfast went on like usual, with the exception of the obsidian girl who unknowingly kept aloof from the group. For obvious reason, Mio just couldn't keep up with everyone else's conversation. She found herself spacing out a lot and having Ritsu always close by only made things worse for the bassist.

She felt a twirl of emotions coming in.

The constant flustered throbbing that her heart felt every time those amber-colored eyes looked at her. The unmistakable sensation of fluttering wings in her stomach whenever the drummer got too close. The unfamiliar yearning to have her even closer. The longing desire she felt whenever her stormy eyes gazed at Ritsu's rosy lips, and the frustration for recalling those unfulfilled dreams that denied her from kissing them.

Her unstable emotional state went on through most of her morning classes, to which she had a really hard time concentrating for. Especially on the last one before her lunch break. She knew that Ritsu had the same class right after hers ended. So in order to avoid an encounter with the drummer, she left the classroom right after their professor had just dismissed them.

She felt completely worn-out by the time she reached the cafeteria, where she found Sachi and Mugi. Both girls noticed right away the raven-haired's fatigued state. Concerned, they questioned Mio if she was okay -which of course she wasn't- but she denied it.

Thinking that perhaps she didn't wanted to talk about whatever it was that got her so drained, both Mugi and Sachi chose not to ask more about it and talked about something else instead.

But once again, Mio's thoughts drift off elsewhere. On a certain honey-colored eyed girl, to be precise.

All those bottled-up feelings she'd tried to keep concealed were finally overflowing with great force, threatening to burst out at any moment.

Deciding that she couldn't take all the build-up pressure that had collected and was now causing her a headache, she bid goodbye to the girls, excused herself from the cafeteria and headed straight to her room.

Yes, she still had one last class that afternoon, but she could afford to skip one lecture. All she could think about was to crawl under the covers of her bed and stay there for hours.

When she reached her room, Mio simple dropped everything she had, tediously dragged her exhausted body across the room and fell faced down on her bed with a loud thump.

Sleep deprived, exhausted and with a light headache, Mio fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

-o-o-o-

There was a loud thud followed by someone groaning and mumbling angrily to themselves.

Mio opened her eyes and only saw darkness around her, with the exception of some light coming in through the slightly translucent curtains of her window.

She turned to her night stand, blindly reached for the small lamp and turned it on. The room, although still dimmed, now had the enough light illuminating just around her bed.

She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision before turning her eyes to the side of her bed where the source of clamor came from.

There, kneeling before her bed and apparently looking for something, was none other than her best friend. Up on noticing Mio, Ritsu looked up nervously, as if caught in the act, and flashed the raven-haired a silly smile.

And then Mio noticed it. Ritsu had her hair down.

"Uh … hi? … I was just, you know … looking under the bed?" said Ritsu trying to find the right words that would explain her current position.

_Am I dreaming again?_ thought Mio as she stared at the drummer constantly running her fingers through loose russet locks, unaccustomed to having her long bangs slightly cloak her face.

Slowly, Mio glanced at her surroundings. Although she had the lamp on, the place was still a bit dark.

They were in her bedroom, alone.

Just her and Ritsu.

And she had her hair down.

Come to think of it, she rarely saw her without her headband. Except maybe in her dreams, of course. But the thing is, Ritsu hardly let her locks down. She would either be wearing her signature yellow headband, or have her hair tied up in her pineapple style.

So maybe this really was another dream.

_Well there goes another restless night. Didn't I just dream about her last night?_ Mio sighed while sitting on the edge of her bed. _Whatever, it'll just end up like the others … Unfulfilled._

"What is it this time, Ritsu?" she rubbed her temples as a small throbbing lingered on them.

"Well, umm … I haven't seen you since morning, so …" for some reason Mio's train of thought wondered off. Although her gazed did not budged from Ritsu once she landed her stormy eyes on the tawny-haired girl, her mind wasn't paying attention to the drummer's words.

_Now that I think about it, in every single one of those dreams, Ritsu was the one that would always take the initiative._ A light blush appeared on the bassist when the roles of a passive and aggressive couple came to mind.

"I didn't saw when you left, so I didn't got to ask ..." unaware that Mio wasn't listening, Ritsu kept talking nonchalantly, running her bangs back every now and then as they brushed her cheeks.

_Am I really the passive one?_ Kept thinking Mio. _I mean, if we really were in a relationship, Ritsu would be the one always taking the lead, right? … Well she kinda does that already, dragging me here and there as she pleases._

So what was this going to be? Another endless dream that will deprived Mio from that unfulfilled longing for the brunette?

_It's just like that night a year ago all over again. A_ second sigh, much deeper and tired than the last escaped her lips._ I guess you won't allow my lips to have yours tonight either, right?_

_Why are you so cruel to me, Ritsu?_

"I know I shouldn't do that, but you know I just can't help it," chuckled Ritsu, scratching the back of her head.

Still oblivious of Ritsu's actual conversation, Mio kept talking to the honey-colored eye girl in her inner thoughts.

_Yeah, you've said so before. You just love teasing me all the time,_ she sighed. But then, she thought of something. What if Mio really was the one that allowed Ritsu to take the lead? She doesn't have to always be the passive one, right?

_Wait a minute, who said I had to be the submissive one? These are my dreams, right? I should be able to do as I please in at least one of them ... I could take the lead if I wanted to!_

She gazed back at the still talking short-haired girl and studied her every detail for a moment. And when she did, she sensed her heart began to increase its beating, the butterflies in her belly, and the increase in temperature on her cheeks.

Mio never noticed when Ritsu stood up and paced here and there, still animatedly talking about … whatever it was she was talking about. And what she saw was a rather appealing girl right in front of her.

She had on short-shorts that unsurprisingly looked really good on her, with a slightly tight tee-shirt that nicely embodied her figure. With the very little soft orange light that was available, Mio noticed Ritsu's physique with adoration. The raven-haired would be lying if she didn't admit that she desired this girl.

And those caramel eyes that she became so addicted to always brought a serene warmth in her whenever they looked back at hers.

Then there was the constant brushing of fingers through her loose hair. For the first time Mio couldn't deny something she always tried to keep in the farthest corner of her mind.

_Ritsu looks so hot doing that!_

She could almost hear herself squealing inside her mind like a little girl whenever she saw Ritsu sweep her hair back.

"What did you do to me, Ritsu?" she finally spoke in a whisper, lowering her head down and holding up a hand that covered her face.

"Eh? … did you say something?" Ritsu stopped pacing and step closer to the obsidian girl.

"What did you do to me?" she repeated.

"I … I haven't done anything, Mio."

And then it hit her. She lowered her hand and looked up and was met with a confused stare from the drummer. Stormy gray gazed into radiant amber.

Why didn't she think about it before?

_What if it was me the one that had to do it? _She wondered, dropping her gaze to the side.

"Hmm?" Ritsu tilted her head to the side, following Mio's movements. But said girl was not listening.

_It's all up to me, isn't it?_ Still deep in thought, Mio realized something she didn't thought about. Ritsu on the other hand, wasn't sure of what to say to get the other's attention. Scratching her cheek nervously, she waited for the bassist patiently.

_All this time, in every single dream, Ritsu took the lead and approached to me with the same desire in mind … but it was actually up to me to take the last step, wasn't it?_

She looked up at Ritsu, startling her by the sudden contemplation from the bassist.

"What is it, Mio?"

_I see now … In these dream I get the chance to revive that moment from last year. To recover what was offered to me on that night …_

Without removing her eyes from the drummer, Mio stood up and slowly approached the short-haired girl. Ritsu took a step back but stopped when she felt a pair of trembling hands hold her by her upper arms.

Instantly, Mio felt how a tickling sensation in the pit of her stomach began to boil, spreading through her body with every pulse of her speeding heart. Her body tensed up for a moment when she noticed Ritsu looking at her. But after taking a deep breath to reassure herself, she gently traced her still nervous hands up Ritsu's arms, and settle them on her shoulders.

"Mio?" a faint blush adorned the tawny girl as she looked into those half-lidded stormy eyes. Compared to Ritsu, Mio's cheeks radiated a deeper crimson red. She was so nervous and so anxious that even her earlobes were burning. Determined to accomplish this task she had set to herself, she mustered as much courage she could possibly take for that final step.

_It's up to me to fulfill this dream …_

And with that, the distance between the two vanished. She closed her eyes and let her lips lead the rest of the way until they met the brunette's for a split second before moving back to see her eye to eye, almost caressing the other's nose with hers.

_They're soft._

The corner of her lip slightly curled up in a barely visible coy smile. And even though her heart kept heavily pounding against her chest and she could feel her cheek bursting in flames, her body finally relaxed and it moved on its own, closing in for a second peck on those lips.

_They're warm._

This time, a very blissful smile made its presence. Confidence finally took over her, along an even greater craving for more. So she slid her arms around the brunette's neck and brought their bodies closer, seeking the other's warmth. The soothing contact of the other's beating heart brought her a sense of relief and tranquility. She gazed into those golden eyes and almost felt her heart melt away.

And for a third time, their lips met.

This time, though, Mio took her time to pour all the love she felt for the brunette in this kiss.

Dumbfounded, Ritsu finally seemed to get the picture of what was happening and soon enough she gave in to the moment and passionately kissed her back. Closing her eyes, her hands found their way around Mio's waist and brought her even closer to her body. Deepening the kiss that hungrily asked for more. Fusing each other's warmth with the other in a single, yet meaningful kiss.

_And it's so sweet._

After what felt like hours, they finally separated; with light pants showing the lack of air, and with an obvious look of embarrassment between the girls.

"Wow," gasped the brunette a bit shocked, an unexpected blush across her face.

Mio, with a darker redness on her cheeks, couldn't help but giggle at how Ritsu's responded.

"That's all you're going to say?" she asked playfully.

"H-how would you respond to something like that, then?"

Mio thought for a second, and smiling fondly she looked into amber.

"I love you Ritsu," she whispered only for the brunette to hear.

Stunned amber eyes looked back into peaceful stormy ones. She brought up a hand to Mio's cheek, gently caressing it, a serene and tender smile made its way to Ritsu's lips before replying to the obsidian girl.

"I love you, too, Mio."

-o-o-o-

-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP- … roared the alarm on the night stand, soon to be shut off by a hand that slid from under the covers.

Retrieving the hand back, its owner instantly nestled even deeper back into the soft source of warmth that lay between her clasped arms. For the first time in a long while, Mio felt a sense of rejoicing and bliss. As if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and now she could fully bask in this peaceful moment. Sighing profoundly, she opened her eyes slowly, blinking a couple of times to clear her sight.

Once her eyes were fully awake, a sudden realization hit her, making her set up abruptly and throwing half her covers off the bed. Momentary, alarmed eyes took noticed of her surroundings.

She was in her bedroom. No surprise there. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except maybe just her school bag in the middle of the floor along with a couple of books.

It was morning, and noting by the sun light slipping through the window, it was not as early as she had been waking up to for the past few days. It was just the right time, as a matter of fact.

She looked up at that ceiling that many times before greeted her with an emotionless, vacant darkness; now with a glimpse of sunlight spreading its warmth to the rest of the room.

Relieved, she let a second sigh escape her lips.

Her lips.

She brought her fingers to them to caress.

They tingled.

Looking down, she realized she had been hugging her body-pillow all along.

_So it really was just a dream,_ thought the obsidian girl as a serene smile made its presence.

She fell back on her bed, tightly hugging her pillow to her deeply flushed face as she tried to muffle an unexpected squeal filled with joy and happiness escaping from her.

"I kissed her," she shrieked in a whisper to no one. "I finally got to kissed her!"

At last.

Almost a year after that faithful night with Ritsu, she finally got to fulfill a desire that the brunette had awaken in her. Even if it was just in her dream, the fact that she was able to seal with a kiss the twirl of emotions that sculpted itself into a passionate love for Ritsu, it was more than enough to make her heart burst with so much happiness and glee.

For the next ten minutes or so, she couldn't help but to keep rolling from side to side on her bed, face in a deep crimson red seemed ready to burst steam at any time, and a glowing smile seemed glued to her lips.

_A-and we not only k-kissed!_

No, apparently this time her dream did not ended with just that kiss, although that was pretty much all she could think about.

When Mio finally noticed the time, she was running late now. Panicking, she rapidly head to the bathroom for a quick shower, got dressed, gathered her books back inside her bag and finally headed out.

But once outside, a second realization hit her.

_I c-can't face Ritsu now!_ She thought as the well-known blush on her cheeks began to glow. _What am I going to do? What am I going to do?! … I-I thought that with this I could finally try to get over Ritsu … b-but now I can't stop thinking about her … well, I never did stopped thinking of her, but now, with the dream I had last night, it's like … I want m-more of her …_

"Hey, has anyone seen Yui? She's not in her room," came Akira's voice from the side. "Oh, 'morning, Mio."

"Eh? … ah, y-yes … good morning, Akira-san," she stutter trying to compose herself.

"Say, did you happen to hear some weird noise earlier today? An I think I heard someone screaming, too."

"N-no, not really. I don't remember hearing anything."

Soon the rest of the girls were coming out of their bedrooms, and not wanting to run into Ritsu so early, she made her way to the end of the hall and down the stairs, where she found an apologetic Yui guiltily smiling at what looked like a very irritated Azusa who kept rubbing her temples.

"But Azunyan, I can't even remember how I got there, honestly!" embarrassedly explain the air-headed guitarist to her kouhai.

"I don't understand. Last time I checked it was locked … I locked it!" Azusa just kept trying to ease the light headache she had woken up to that morning.

"Azunyan ~ … listen, I'm telling you I don't rememb-.. ah, Mio-chan!" Yui called out the raven-haired as she approached the two, momentarily forgetting about her conversation with the shorter girl.

"Eh? … Mio-senpai, good morning," even the pig-tailed girl was able to distract herself with the other girl's arrival.

Mio returned the greeting and spoke with them for the time been. Well, they spoke.

_Just act natural,_ she thought while watching Yui talk about what had happened with her and Azusa. Although, quite honestly, Mio wasn't really paying much attention to the pair.

_Nothing happened, Mio. Yes, nothing out of the ordinary happened … except that you just kissed your best friend in a dream and it was the best feeling you've ever had in your life! … Oh God! W-what am I gonna do?! … I-I don't think I can face…_

"Ricchan! Mugi-chan!" called out Yui once she spotted the drummer and the keybordist, yanking Mio from her train of thought and making her freeze in place.

"Yo!"

"Good morning Yui-chan, Azusa."

"Morning, Mugi-senpai ... Ritsu-senpai, what happened to your head?"

"Huh? … Oh, the band-aid? Just ... a wakeup call," replied Ritsu sharing an accomplice smile with Mugi. "Hey, Yui, where have you been? Akira kept knocking on your door and you never answered," but before Ritsu could get an answer from the guitarist that sheepishly scratched her cheek, the rest of the girls arrived and soon enough they all headed to the cafeteria, talking about a strange noise some of them heard hours ago and asking Yui how she woke herself up so early in the morning.

However, Mio's body simply didn't moved.

And as soon as the rest of the girls walked away, the chatter eased and the hall emptied.

Except for Mio.

And Ritsu.

Still frozen in place, the bassist made no signs of wanting to face the drummer at that moment.

"Mio, you ok?" until she was called out.

Startle, Mio shakily nodded. She was completely sure a blush had made its way to her heated cheeks.

_I can't look at her! … I can't look at her!_

"You sure?"

"Y-yes."

And then everything turned awkwardly quiet between the two.

Noticing that she was completely alone with Ritsu, Mio just felt like crying for a way out.

"So listen, Mio … I was just thinking, umm …" for some reason, Ritsu's voice sounded a bit off from her normal tone. Mio took note of this, and after taking a quick breath to calm her nerves, she slowly turned to the girl, and what she noticed caught her attention.

She had her headband on. Well no surprise there, she always did.

But with her hair held back, Mio's sight first landed on a noticeable band-aid on the side of her forehead.

_Is that what Azusa asked her about?_

Still with her sight on Ritsu, she observed that she kept rubbing the back of her head, meaning she was either embarrassed or nervous … or nervously embarrassed.

_I think it's both … maybe._

"Since tomorrow we have the day off, I was wondering … if you …" those amber eyes that captivated her and were now trying to look elsewhere but Mio, had some sort of brightness that was foreign for her stormy eyes to see.

And finally, right under those caramel eyes, there was an unmistakable yet barely visible flush.

_Wait, she's … blushing?_

"I dunno … I'm not doing much … so I thought," Ritsu, obviously edgy and jittery for some reason, did not check for Mio's lack of attention.

_Why would she be blushing? … Did she do something?_

"If you don't have anything planned either … I was hoping that …"

_She does look kinda cute when blushing, though …_

"Maybe you would like to … actually, maybe we could …"

_And her lips look very … tempting._

Now it was the bassist's turn to feel the heat rise up to her face as stubborn gray-colored eyes wouldn't look away from those rosy lips. Poor Ritsu just kept with her incoherent gibberish, not noticing the other's inner dilemma.

"Go on a …"

_Look away, Mio ... look away!_

"Date?"

_Akiyama, stop looking at her lips! … You already kissed them on your dream last night, so stop thinking nonsense already … Staring at them won't make it happen agai-… … W-wait, what?!_

Mio's train of thought came to a halt, and pretty much her mind was left in a blank state for a few seconds.

". . . . . . eh?" was all that Mio could blurt out.

"Yeah, I mean," Ritsu turned her gaze at Mio and smile at her dumfounded expression before continuing. "You did say you wanted to go on one, right? And after we finally made it official last night, I could hardly wait either."

". . . eh?"

Okay, Mio was now officially freaking out and her obliviousness to what the conversation was about did not help at all. Maybe she should have been paying attention from the beginning instead of ogling at the brunette.

Watching how Mio's brow started to twitch as panic began to build up in her, somehow relaxed Ritsu. So she smiled fondly at her, stepped much closer and reached for the bassist's hand.

"Mio, last night … last night made me so happy, and to know that it was all real, that I wasn't dreaming made me realized that I should have said something a long time ago. But that's in the past, what matters now is our present," she intertwined her fingers with Mio's and gave them a light squeeze. "And our future."

_L-last night? … What does she mean by last night? _Mio tried to rewind the memory from last night's dream, but all that she thought about was that kiss. And after said kiss happened, she vaguely remembers talking to her for a little while.

She did most of the talking, actually.

Mio remembers herself confessing to Ritsu how she felt and told her of that night a year ago. About what she had been going through and of how every dream she had with her left her with a bitter-sweet taste. And of how she have always wanted to go on a date with her.

She asked the drummer to stay longer with her and eventually they went to bed together to sleep. The last thing she remembers from last night's dream was of her tightly hugging the brunette, feeling the other's heartbeat lullaby her into a sleep as she happily basked into her warmth while gently been embraced by Ritsu's protective arms.

That's all she remembers before waking up that morning, tightly hugging her body pillow.

"You now," said Ritsu grinning. "Now that I think about it, I don't think you were paying attention on how I ended up in your room last night, right?"

Time stopped a second time for the bassist.

What did Ritsu just said? She was in Mio's room last night?

Impossible!

That's preposterous!

Just what in the world would Ritsu be doing in Mio's bedroom when she was fast asleep, having the most wonderful dream of her life in which she- … wait a minute!

In her dream, didn't Mio saw herself waking up to the sight of Ritsu in her room?

_That doesn't make any sense … u-unless …_

And so began Ritsu with her side of the story.

Apparently, for a second time.

It all began with the class that the drummer had right after Mio's. In which, she couldn't help but to fall asleep half way through the lecture until the end of it. And knowing Ritsu, Mio knew the drummer tended to doze off in class sometimes . . . a lot of times.

But at the end of the day, when she was back in her room and realized she had missed taking notes while napping, she went straight to Mio's room to ask the bassist for her notes to borrow.

As expected from her, no knocking on the door was required to enter her best friend's bedroom; she simply opened the door and let herself in nonchalantly.

First thing she noticed, the place was completely dark.

Second, Mio was fast asleep on her bed.

A mischief smile spread through the drummer's lips and ideas to play a prank on the sleeping beauty came to mind.

However, not even did she managed to take a step closer to the other's bed when her feet got tangled with something on the floor, making her fall hard enough to even force her hairband to fly off under the bed.

The cause of her fall: Mio had dropped her school bag in the middle of the floor.

The commotion had woken up the raven-haired and not wanting to get the Dangerous Queen's fist of fury for entering in her room without permission, Ritsu tried to explain herself to her childhood friend.

She even forgot to retrieve her headband back.

Unknowingly that the long-haired girl was not listening, Ritsu kept talking about her little nap in class and of the lecture she had missed taking notes of, which was the reason she was there for.

But then Mio said something and it only confused Ritsu.

Next thing she knows, she has the bassist standing right in front of her.

And then she gets kissed.

Nothing more was needed to be said. Mio already knew the rest.

"Y-you . . . you mean . . . that wasn't a dream?" Mio couldn't believe what she was hearing; overwhelmed, she felt tears making their way to the corner of her eyes.

Smiling tenderly, Ritsu brought Mio closer and hugged her tightly, feeling the other girl's heart furiously pounding against her chest.

"It wasn't a dream, Mio," whispered the drummer. "It really happened."

Mio couldn't hold her tears any longer, and so they began rolling down her rosy cheeks, meeting a timid smile tugging at her shaking lips. The tender trace of Ritsu's hand drying off those stubborn tears brought a warm feeling that soothed her rickety heart.

"You know . . . you weren't the only one that had the same dream."

To prove it, she kissed her.

Mio closed her eyes at the touch of Ritsu's lips, basking on the new found emotions that it brought. After what felt like forever, they parted. Mio opened her eyes very slowly, fearing to find herself once again in the confined darkness of her room.

But instead, her stormy eyes found themselves looking into the depths of Ritsu's honey-colored eyes.

It wasn't a dream anymore.

"I'm awake, Ritsu," she whispered out.

"You're awake, Mio," replied the brunette.

* * *

**A/N: **The following information, is something I got from a book about dreams and their meaning. I can't recall the title of the book, though.

[_The "about to be kissed" moment is an interesting one. Often, it occurs as we wake up. This is the dream that may most accurately reflect a desire for actual passion with another. The reason we wake up is the TABOO feeling that perhaps, while we want this, it would not be beneficial to actually participate in it._]

This happened to me so many times with someone I had feelings for years ago. It's somewhat of a bitter-sweet memory for me.

Bitter because I ended up giving up on that unrequired, one-sided love. Something told me it was not meant to be.

Sweet because later on, that same person ended up fulfilling all those "about to be kissed" moments from my dreams.

Too bad I was already over them, huh?

* * *

**EXTRA**

Distressing knocks kept pounding the door of the Ojou-sama's room, abruptly wakening her up from her deep slumber so early in the morning.

Although not one to become easily annoyed, she did found it rather rude to be disturbed at such hour. So with a bit of sluggishness, she got out of bed and headed to the door.

"Yes? Who is it?" she asked while putting on her night-gown.

"It's me. Mugi, let me in!"

Not expecting to hear that voice at such an early hour, Mugi waited no time to open the door. What she found behind it was a rather stunned short-haired brunette with a barely visible light blush; a headband in hand, seemingly out of breath and for some reason her clothes were a bit disordered.

"Ricchan? What happened? Is everything alright?" the concerned keyboardist asked as she led her friend inside.

Ritsu, on the other hand, had an idiotic smile plastered across her lips and her golden eyes seemed to gleam brighter than ever.

"You're not gonna believe what just happened! I'm not really sure I can believe it myself cause I kinda fell asleep at the end, too, so now I'm not sure if it did happened … although, it did felt so real and I did spent a hard time getting out of her room, I mean when she hugs you in her sleep it's hard to get out of her grip … and look, she said to leave my bangs down, she likes 'em better when they're down!" Ritsu was not making any sense with her nonstop chatter. And although Mugi found this rather amusing, she still wasn't sure what the drummer was talking about.

"Ricchan, try to calm down. I can't understand what you're saying."

After taking several deep breaths to compose herself, she spoke. Retelling the happenings to the azure-eyed.

Ten minutes later, not only had Ritsu finished talking but she had to spend a couple of more minutes trying to snap the Ojou from whatever yurilicious fantasy she had been thinking of.

Even though Mugi had a pretty clear idea that Ritsu had feelings for the bassist for a long time -and that perhaps Mio felt the same way- it wasn't until a couple of years ago that the brunette herself admitted to her been in love with her best friend.

Since then, the keyboardist did all she could to support her friend, and many times she even tried to encourage her to confess to the ravenette. But she never did.

However, after hearing from Ritsu what happened between the two, she couldn't help letting a joyful squeal come out of her.

"Oh my-my-my-my-my!" Mugi was practically bouncing with excitement. "This is wonderful news!"

"I know! I mean … I never really thought she could ever feel the same way."

Mugi was so glad to see her friend smile so brightly with happiness; she knew how much the drummer loved Mio and of the many failed attempts Ritsu tried to confess but always backed down at the last minute.

"I'm so happy you two are finally together, Ricchan," Mugi smiled fondly back at Ritsu as she gave her a gentle pat on her shoulder.

"Me, too … which is why," replied the brunette as she placed back on the headband to hold her long bangs.

"I want you …" she next placed both hands on either side of the blonde's shoulders and with determined eyes she looked into azure.

"To hit me!"

". . . . . . . ."

". . . . . . . ."

A staring contest between the two lasted exactly three minutes and twenty-four seconds, until a very dumbstruck Mugi finally managed to speak.

"I-I'm sorry, I must have heard that wrong … You want me to do what?"

"I want you ... to hit me ... as hard … as you can," she emphasized. "… Please?"

Ritsu took an extra five minutes trying to persuade her friend to do this little request of hers, which Mugi ended up sort of, kind of, more or less, somewhat skeptically agreeing to.

What was Ritsu's reason? '_I just wanna make sure I haven't been dreaming all this and that I'm actually awake!'_

That seemed to be a reasonable explanation … maybe?

So after no further deliberation, Mugi found herself standing in front an anxious Ritsu readying herself for the hit.

And quite frankly, deep down Mugi was getting excited. She got to hit one of her friends!

How awesome is that?!

"Are you sure about this, Ricchan? I don't really think this is necessary," even if she sounded concerned, Mugi couldn't help but to smile at the idea of _bonding through bodily contact_ with Ritsu by means of hitting her just like Mio does.

"For me it is ... besides, you look like you really want to do it, don't cha'?" smirked Ritsu as she noticed her friend's hand shake with anticipation.

Frowning comically, Mugi lifted a hand without warning.

"Wait, wait, wait! You can't do it just like that. I wasn't ready," she loosened up first and took a deep breath closing her eyes. "Ok, count to three."

"Here I go, then … one," she step closer to Ritsu.

_Dear Lord of the Drum …_ thought Ritsu.

"Two," a firm fist began to lift in the air.

_Don't let me fall on my bum! _

"Three!"

-SMACK-

Right on her forehead.

And no, Ritsu didn't fell on her bum.

But the hit did send her tumbling all the way back to the blonde's desk; knocking off a lamp, pencil holder, a few books and even the chair, causing quite a loud clatter for others to hear.

"Ricchan!"

Oh, yes ... Ritsu was wide awake indeed.

"Oooow!"

**OMAKE**

"Ugh, what was that noise?" a cranky kitty that had her room on the first floor, exactly right under Mugi-chan's, said to herself after been awaken by some commotion from the room above hers.

"Unnnh … go back to sleep, Azunyan," a short haired brunette mumbled half-asleep as she snuggled closer to the petite girl she comfortably held between her arms from the back.

". . . ok," sighed the young guitarist, nestling back into the other's warmth.

Until … three...

Two...

One...

"AAAAGH, YUI-SENPAI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?!"

* * *

**A/N: **Ok, now I'm finished, Xb ... I really do hope you guys liked it. I sure did had fun burning down the few brain cells I have left as I tried to write it, haha XD

Please, don't forget to review and point out where I need to work on if you see anything that needs improvement .. .. .. or to compliment X3

Thanks for reading!


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